A Study of Communication Expectations of Black Graduate Students at a State University.

Wanguri, Deloris McGee

A study investigated the influence of various information sources on graduate students' communicative, social, and academic expectations. Specifically, the study examined whether (1) those students who received preentry information about a university from an informal source would perceive that more of their expectations were met than would those who received information from a formal source, (2) those students who received previous degrees from similar universities would perceive that more of the expectations were met than would those who received degrees from dissimilar universities, and (3) those students who, prior to enrolling, examined and evaluated alternative universities would perceive that more of their expectations were met than would those who did not do so. Subjects, 72 black graduate students, completed a 12-item questionnaire that elicited information concerning sources that had influenced them in choosing a university, preentry expectations, postentry perceptions, previous universities attended, and their decision making processes. Results indicated that sources of information, similarity of institution attended, and examination of alternative universities were not important as determinants of the degree to which expectations were perceived to have been met. (FL)